Been prescribed Escitalopram. Scared!

[minibreakams]

Hi ladies and happy Thursday morning,

I have been prescribed Escitalopram 5mg for anxiety, I was going through a tricky time and have been left with a lot of anxiety from it that I can't seem to shift so I've started CBT and doctor now thinks it's the time to try antidepressants. The prescription has been sent to my pharmacy and I'm actually doubting if I should go get them. He says I'll probably only need them for six months but I'm so worried about side effects. Doctor think 5mg for one month and see how that goes. Please tell me your experiences good or bad so I can have an idea what's ahead of me. I've just started a new job which is very full on so I'm scared I won't have the down time to deal with side effects 🧡

Yikes! I’m also taking it and the first 6 weeks were really hard. I started at 5mg, then 10mg then 15mg and was on that for a few months. It helped immensely. I can’t praise this med enough! I’m now back on 10mg as I’m hoping to wean off but I think I’ll be on 10 for a while as it’s made such a positive impact on me.

Good luck! Just gotta push through the first few weeks while your body adjusts.

Hi ☺️ I was exactly in the same position as you about 6 months ago. I had suffered extreme anxiety and panic attacks for years and years until I finally got the courage to speak to my wonderful GP about it. I went through a particularly bad phase last year and was unable to sleep, the lightest sound would make me panic and I couldn’t cope with the stress at work. I had reached breaking point. I was extremely apprehensive about escitalopram because of the side effects listed online (Dr Google and WebMD do more harm than good!) My doctor reassured me that it works wonders for anxiety and any side effects I did have would sort out within the first few weeks and wouldn’t be nearly as debilitating as the anxiety.

She couldn’t have been more right! I’m so glad I finally started taking it. I did experience side effects- a little nausea the first few weeks, dizziness that comes and goes, and for the first 6 weeks I was very lethargic. The lethargy was actually therapeutic for me because it enabled me to slow down and finally sleep. I’m still a bit more lethargic than I used to be, but it’s not the end of the world and trust me the benefits are more than worth it.

Got for it OP! Anxiety is debilitating, and you don’t realise just how debilitating it is until you see what life can be without it.

And none of the side effects were so severe that I couldn’t carry on with my job and usual activities! I even continued my workouts as normal. 5mg is a very small dose and any side effects are likely to be very mild.

My advice is to take it at around 8-9 pm. That way, even if it does make you lethargic or a bit a dizzy, you’ll sleep it off and be nice and refreshed in the morning. That’s what I did and it worked like a charm.

I wish you luck in your new job and I just want to say you’re very brave yo start this journey towards recovery

5 mg is a low dose. I take 20 mg and have for over a decade. Side effects should be minimal. Escitalopram was designed to have few side effects. Just don't go off it suddenly. If you must go off, taper slowly. You'll be fine. For me, it's been a miracle drug.

I started on 10mg and then moved up to 20mg. Like PP’s, I had few side effects-perhaps felt abit sleepy 30 minutes after taking it, but that was actually good as anxiety had affected my sleeping. I took it in the evening and slept much better. Three weeks after starting I felt so much calmer, the anxiety was receding and no more panic attacks.

I was on it for about two years and gradually came off just over six months ago. Try to think of it as a medication that you currently need to take for an illness, because that’s what diagnosed anxiety is, an illness.💐

Thanks so much ladies! This has made me feel much better. Its a week later and I still haven't gone to pick them up yet!

I went into Boots on my lunchbreak to ask about them and all she did was give me a print out of side effects, told me it can make it worse before it makes it better and that they don't suit everyone so she didn't help calm me...... I have just started a new job and am up at 6 everyday, working long days so I definitely need to be 'on' at the moment and have been worried the medication will throw me off

OP, have no fear. This will be the best decision you ever make. As long as you take the pill at night a couple hours before bed, it will have absolutely no impact on your level of alertness, especially at such a low dose.

Don’t even read the side effects pamphlet, it’s basically a way for them to cover themselves so that nobody says “you didn’t warn me”. Most of the serious side effects are with higher doses taken for prolonged periods and even then it’s less than 1/100 or 1/1000 that get it.

The benefits outweighs the risks.

I’m on it and find it to be a very good drug for anxiety. I take a very low dose as I get side effects otherwise.
The problem for me is that I can’t come off it due to severe withdrawals. That is a consideration, and to be perfectly honest the GP didn’t warn me about this properly. However, I just don’t care anymore and I’m happy to be on this medication for life. I can’t go back to a life ruined by anxiety and panic.

Just had a therapy session this evening and thought the points she made might interest others too. She said it can make it feel worse for the first two weeks but the reason is because it's you fighting your body relaxing, muscles and mind have been tense for so long that you don't even realise and it can make the change to 'relaxed' feel like a battle

Starting 15mg today